Self-organizing wireless backhaul among cellular access points

ABSTRACT

Described herein are techniques preparing a wireless backhaul among cellular access points. The cellular access points may obtain either (i) locations of themselves and other devices or (ii) instructions for adjusting position of wireless transceivers of the cellular access points. Based at least in part on the locations or instructions, the cellular access points may adjust positions of the wireless transceivers and initiate wireless connections via the wireless transceivers. The cellular access points may receive the locations or instructions from a server of the telecommunication network, which may determine pairs of the cellular access points based at least in part on the locations of the cellular access points.

BACKGROUND

The every increasing number of telecommunication device users has led tosubstantial efforts by telecommunication network service providers tospread the reach and number of access networks. As part of theseefforts, different cellular access points of varying reach have beendeveloped and put in use. For example, cellular access points mayinclude macrocell systems, and small cell systems such as microcellsystems, picocell systems, femtocell systems, and radio remote units.Some cellular access points may be connected to a core network of atelecommunication service provider by wireline connections. Othercellular access points, such as microcell systems, picocell systems,femtocell systems, radio remote units, or other small cell systems,connect to the core network through a nearby cellular access point, sucha macrocell system or other small cell system with a wirelineconnection. These connections between cellular access points arewireless and typically avoid use of the same licensed spectrum that isused by user devices for cellular communication. Such wirelessconnections include microwave connections, WiFi connections, WiMaxconnections, etc. To enable these wireless connections, however, a fieldengineer with knowledge of the locations of the different cellularaccess points in an area must adjust the positions of wirelesstransceivers, such as antenna arrays, to enable the cellular accesspoints to wirelessly connect to each other. This in turn requires asubstantial investment in manpower by telecommunication serviceproviders.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingfigures. In the figures, the left-most digit(s) of a reference numberidentifies the figure in which the reference number first appears. Theuse of the same reference numbers in different figures indicates similaror identical items or features.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment including a plurality ofcellular access points, such as small cell systems and a macrocellsystem, user devices capable of connecting to the cellular accesspoints, and a server connected to the cellular access points via atelecommunication network which includes the cellular access points andthe server.

FIG. 2 illustrates example cellular access points obtaining cellularaccess point locations or obtaining instructions for adjusting positionsof wireless transceivers of the cellular access points to prepare awireless backhaul among the cellular access points.

FIG. 3 illustrates a component level view of a cellular access point,including a cellular transceiver, wireless transceivers, and atransceiver configuration module.

FIG. 4 illustrates a component level view of a telecommunication networkserver configured to provide cellular access point locations or wirelesstransceiver positioning instructions.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process for preparing a wireless backhaulamong the cellular access points and maintaining the wireless backhaulin response to a connection failure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process for preparing a wireless backhaulamong the cellular access points, including a cellular access pointreceiving locations or instructions, adjusting a position of a wirelesstransceiver, and initiating wireless communication via the wirelesstransceiver.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process for maintaining a wirelessbackhaul, including a cellular access point detecting loss of aconnection, determining a further adjustment of a position of a wirelesstransceiver, and initiating wireless communication via the wirelesstransceiver.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process for retrieving locations ofcellular access points, determining pairs of the cellular access points,and providing locations or instructions to cause each cellular accesspoint of a pair to adjust a position of its wireless transceiver and toenable that pair to initiate a wireless connection via their wirelesstransceivers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes, in part, techniques for preparing a wirelessbackhaul among cellular access points. The cellular access points mayinclude a macrocell system and small cell systems, such as microcellsystems, picocell systems, femtocell systems, or radio remote units. Thecellular access points may request and receive either (i) locations ofthemselves and other devices or (ii) instructions for adjusting positionof wireless transceivers of the cellular access points. When a cellularaccess point is a small cell system, it may establish a cellularconnection to either a macrocell system or another small cell system(e.g., a small cell system with a wireline connection) over a portion oflicensed spectrum and may request the locations or instructions via thecellular connection. The macrocell system or other small cell systemthen relays the request from the small cell system to a server of thetelecommunication network that includes the cellular access points. Theserver then provides the locations or instructions.

In various embodiments, upon receiving the locations or instructions andbased at least in part on the locations or instructions, the cellularaccess points may adjust positions of the wireless transceivers. Theinstructions may include absolute angles or degrees of movement for thewireless transceivers. If locations are provided, the cellular accesspoints may utilize the locations to determine target positions for thewireless transceivers and may adjust the positions of the wirelesstransceivers from current positions to the target positions. Thecellular access points may then initiate wireless connections via thewireless transceivers. Such wireless connections may include microwaveconnections, WiFi connections, WiMax connections, or combinationsthereof. Initiating the wireless connections may include performingradio frequency (RF) sweeps to detect the devices being wirelesslyconnected to and may involve beam-forming techniques. The resultingwireless connections form the wireless backhaul among the cellularaccess points.

The cellular access points may be further configured to maintain thewireless backhaul in response to loss of connectivity. For example, upondetermining that one of its wireless connections has failed, a cellularaccess point may determine whether it has received additional locationsor instructions for use in case on connectivity failure. If not, thecellular access point may request additional locations or instructions.Based on the previously or newly received additional locations orinstructions, the cellular access point makes further adjustments topositions of some or all of its wireless transceiver(s) and initiateswireless connection(s) with further device(s).

The server of the telecommunication network providing the locations orinstructions may be configured to retrieve locations of cellular accesspoints from a location repository and to determine pairs of cellularaccess points based at least in part on the locations. The pairs mayalso be determined based on capacity, congestion, signal strength, andresource profiles. These pairs may then be used to determine thelocations or instructions to provide to each cellular access point. Theprovided locations or instructions in turn enable receiving cellularaccess points of a pair to initiate wireless connections with eachother. In some embodiments, the server may be a component of aself-organizing network (SON), such as a SON tool or SON engine.

Example Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example environment including a plurality ofcellular access points, such as small cell systems and a macrocellsystem, user devices capable of connecting to the cellular accesspoints, and a server connected to the cellular access points via atelecommunication network which includes the cellular access points andthe server. As illustrated, a plurality of cellular access points of atelecommunication network 104 may receive locations or instructions fromserver(s) 106 of the telecommunication network 104, which may retrievethe locations from a location repository 108. The cellular access points102 may include a macrocell system 110 (also referred to as a macrocell110), picocell systems 112 (also referred to as picocells 112), afemtocell system 114 (also referred to as a femtocell 114), a microcellsystem 116 (also referred to as a microcell 116), and a small cellsystem 118 (also referred to as a small cell 118). These cellular accesspoints 102 may form among themselves a wireless backhaul 120. Further,user devices 122 may connect to any of the cellular access points 102 toreceive services of the telecommunication network 104.

In various embodiments, the cellular access points 102 may each be orinclude any sort of base station or access point device, such as aserver, a work station, a personal computer (PC), a laptop computer, atablet computer, an embedded system, or any other sort of device ordevices. Each cellular access point 102 may be a base station, such as anode B or eNode B, associated with an area of coverage known as a cell.Further, each cellular access point may be equipped with transceivers,such as antennas, enabling RF communication over licensed spectrum,unlicensed spectrum, or some combination of both. The cellular accesspoints 102 of FIG. 1 are each equipped with at least a cellulartransceiver to enable cellular communication over licensed spectrum andat least one wireless transceiver enabling wireless communication, suchas wireless communication over a microwave connection, a WiFiconnection, a WiMax connection, or another sort of connection overunlicensed spectrum. The at least one wireless transceiver is configuredto have its position adjusted by its cellular access point 102 to enablebeam forming with other cellular access points 102. An example cellularaccess point 102 is illustrated in FIG. 3 and is described in detailbelow with reference to that figure.

The cellular access points 102 may include a macrocell 110. Themacrocell 110 is equipped with an interface, such as a wirelineinterface (e.g., Ethernet port) connecting the macrocell 110 to the corenetwork of the telecommunication network 104, either directly or throughintermediate devices. The macrocell 110 also includes one or morecellular transceivers for cellular connections to other cellular accesspoints 102 and to user devices 122 using licensed spectrum.Additionally, the macrocell 110 is equipped with at least one wirelesstransceiver, and possibly with wireless transceivers, each wirelesstransceiver configured to be positioned by the macrocell 110independently of the other wireless transceivers. Alternatively (and notshown in FIG. 1), the cellular access points 102 may not include amacrocell 110, but rather may utilize a small cell system, such as oneof the systems 112-118, equipped with a wireline interface (e.g.,Ethernet port) connecting that small cell system to the core network ofthe telecommunication network 104.

The other cellular access points 102 may be small cell systems, such aspicocells 112, femtocell 114, microcell 116, and other small cells 118(e.g., radio remote units). Such small cell systems may have varyinggeographic reaches, with the microcell 116 having a greater reach thanthe picocells 112, and the picocells 112 having greater reach than thefemtocell 114. These small cell systems connect to the core network ofthe telecommunication network 104 through the macrocell 110 or through asmall cell system equipped with a wireline interface. The small cellsystems may include both cellular transceiver(s) and wirelesstransceiver(s). They may receive calls and data connections from userdevices 122 and may form the wireless backhaul 120.

In some embodiments, the cellular access points 102 may be positioned indifferent geographic locations and those geographic locations may beentered into the location repository 108 for use by the server(s) 106 inenabling the cellular access points 102 to prepare the wireless backhaul120. Each cellular access point 102 may be equipped with a number ofwireless transceivers, and cellular access points 102 that are intendedto have more wireless connections may be equipped with more wirelesstransceivers.

The macrocell 110 may obtain locations or instructions from theserver(s) 106 via its wireline connection, and the other cellular accesspoints 102 may communicate with the macrocell 110 via a cellularconnection, with the macrocell 110 relaying other cellular access pointrequests for locations and instructions to the server(s) 106 via thewireline connection. Once locations and instructions are received,cellular access points 102 adjust positions of their wirelesstransceivers based on the locations or instructions and initiatewireless connections via the wireless transceivers, the mesh of thosewireless transceivers forming the wireless backhaul 120. The wirelessbackhaul 120 may then be used to communicate cellular traffic receivedat one cellular access point 102 through at least the macrocell 100 andpotentially through other cellular access points 102 between theendpoint cellular access point 102 and the macrocell 110. Theseoperations for preparing the wireless backhaul 120 are illustrated inFIG. 2 and are described below in greater detail with reference to thatfigure.

The telecommunication network 104 may be any sort of network operated bya telecommunication service provider. In some embodiments, thetelecommunication network 104 is a SON or includes a SON configured bySON components to perform at least one of self-configuring,self-optimizing, or self-healing. The telecommunication network 104 mayalso include a plurality of access networks, such as a 2G, 3G, or 4G/LTEaccess networks, to enable circuit-switched and/or packet-switchedcommunications. The cellular access points 102 may be part of one ormore such access networks. The telecommunication network 104 may furtherinclude a core network. The server(s) 106 and location repository may bepart of such a core network or may be accessed through the core network.

In various embodiments, the server(s) 106 may each be or include aserver or server farm, multiple, distributed server farms, a mainframe,a work station, a PC, a laptop computer, a tablet computer, an embeddedsystem, or any other sort of device or devices. In one implementation,the server(s) 106 represent a plurality of computing devices working incommunication, such as a cloud computing network of nodes. The server(s)106 may belong to the telecommunication network 104 or may be externalto but in communication with the telecommunication network 104. Anexample server 106 is illustrated in FIG. 4 and is described in detailbelow with reference to that figure.

In some embodiments, the location repository 108 may be any sort ofdatabase or other structured or unstructured storage configured to storelocations of the cellular access points 102. Each entry could includesome sort of identifier or set of identifiers or other data for thecellular access points 102 and a location for that entry.

In various embodiments, the server(s) 106 may be an application-specificserver which is configured to determine and provide locations orinstructions enabling the cellular access points 102 to prepare thewireless backhaul 120. In some embodiments, the server(s) 106 mayimplement a SON tool or SON engine of the telecommunication network 104.An example of such a SON tool or SON engine is described in detail inU.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/831,082, which is entitled “OpenArchitecture for Self-Organizing Networks” and was filed on Mar. 14,2013. The server(s) 106 may retrieve at least locations from thelocation repository 108, determine pairs of cellular access points 102which make up the wireless backhaul 120, and provide locations orinstructions based on those determined pairs to the cellular accesspoints 102. These operations for determining and providing locations orinstructions are illustrated in FIG. 2 and are described below ingreater detail with reference to that figure.

In some embodiments, the user devices 122 may be any sort oftelecommunication devices, such as cellular phones, smart phones,personal digital assistants (PDAs), PCs, tablet computers, laptops, gameconsoles, e-readers, or other sorts of mobile computing devices equippedwith cellular communication capabilities. The user devices 122 mayengage in cellular communication with a cellular access point 102, whichmay provide that cellular communication to the core network of thetelecommunication network 104 either directly through a cellular accesspoint with a wireline interface or indirectly through the wirelessbackhaul 120.

Example Preparation of Wireless Backhaul

FIG. 2 illustrates example cellular access points obtaining cellularaccess point locations or obtaining instructions for adjusting positionsof wireless transceivers of the cellular access points to prepare awireless backhaul among the cellular access points. The macrocell 202may be an example of the macrocell 110 or may be replaced with a smallcell equipped with a wireline interface. The small cells 204 may beexamples of one or more of the picocells 112, the femtocell 114, themicrocell 116, or the small cell 118, and the server(s) 208 may beexample(s) of the server(s) 106, which are described above in detailwith respect to FIG. 1.

The wireless transceivers 206 include any sort of wireless transceiversknown in the art. For example, wireless transceivers 206 may includeradio transceivers that perform the function of transmitting andreceiving radio frequency communications via an antenna. The wirelesstransceivers 206 may also include wireless communication transceiversand near field antenna(s) for communicating over unlicensed spectrum,such as spectrum utilized for microwave connections, WiFi connections,WiMax connections, or other wireless connections, such as personal areanetworks (e.g., Bluetooth or near field communication (NFC) networks).Further, the wireless transceivers 206 may include a plurality ofwireless transceivers configured to be positioned independently of oneother to enable wireless connections with devices in a plurality ofdirections. The wireless transceivers 206 may utilize beam-formingtechnologies to wirelessly connect to other devices.

In various embodiments, the small cells 204 may initiate cellularcommunication with the macrocell 202 (or small cell with wirelineinterface) over licensed spectrum, which may be the same spectrumutilized by the user devices 122. Via the cellular connections resultingfrom these cellular communications, the small cells 204 may requestlocations or instructions to enable the small cells to prepare awireless backhaul. The macrocell 202, upon receiving these requests viathe cellular connections, may provide the requests to the server(s) 208.The macrocell 202 may also request locations and instructions from theserver(s) 208. Such requests may be transmitted to the server(s) 208 viaa wireline connection of the macrocell 202 with a telecommunicationnetwork.

The server(s) 208 may have previously determined the locations orinstructions or may determine the locations or instructions responsiveto receiving the requests. To determine the locations or instructions,the server(s) 208 may retrieve locations of the small cells 204, themacrocell 202, and/or other cellular access points from a locationrepository. In some embodiments, the server(s) 208 may also retrievecapacity, congestion, signal strength, and resource profiles associatedwith the small cells 204, the macrocell 202, and/or other cellularaccess points. Based at least on the retrieved locations, and also,optionally, on the capacity, congestion, signal strength, and resourceprofiles, the server(s) 208 determine pairs of the small cells 204,macrocell 202 and other cellular access points. For example, theserver(s) 208 may simply pair small cells 204, macrocell 202 and othercellular access points based on geographic proximity, with a small cell204 being paired with another small cell 204 which is closest to it, andone of the small cells 204 also being paired with the macrocell 202. Theresult chain of pairs forms a wireless backhaul. In other examples, theserver(s) 208 may pair a first small cell 204 with a second small cell204 which is further away from the first small cell 204 than a thirdsmall cell 204, but the second small cell 204 may be selected on accountof capacity, congestion, signal strength, and resource profiles.Resource profile may include, for instance, indication of the number ofwireless transceivers 206 of a small cell 204, macrocell 202, or othercellular access point.

Either in response to the requests or proactively, the server(s) 208 mayprovide locations of the small cells 204, macrocell 202, or othercellular access points constituting a pair to each member of that pair.Alternatively or additionally, the server(s) 208 may determineadjustments to wireless transceivers 206 of the small cells 204,macrocell 202, or other cellular access points constituting a pair toenable the members of that pair to adjust their wireless transceivers206 and wirelessly connect to each other. The adjustment may beindicating by providing an absolute angle or a degree of movement to themembers of the pair. The degree of movement may be based on currentpositions of wireless transceivers reported in the requests forlocations or instructions.

In some embodiments, the server(s) 208 may determine both a first set ofpairs of small cells 204, macrocell 202, and other cellular accesspoints and a second set, the second set to be used by one of the smallcells 204, macrocell 202, and other cellular access points if networkconnectivity is lost. Locations or instructions for both the first setand the second set may provide provided by the server(s) 208. In furtherembodiments, the server(s) 208 may determine any number of sets in anyorder of priority and may provide locations or instructions some or allof them at the same time.

The locations or instructions may be provided by the server(s) 208 tothe macrocell 202, which may then provide 210 the locations orinstructions to the small cells 204 via the cellular connections withthose small cells 204.

In various embodiments, upon receiving the locations or instructions,the small cells 204 may adjust, at 212, the positions of their wirelesstransceivers 206 based on the locations or instructions. Though notshown, the macrocell 202 may also include wireless transceiver(s) 206,and either or both of the small cells 204 may include multiple wirelesstransceiver(s) 206. The macrocell 202 and small cells 204 may alsoadjust the positions of these wireless transceiver(s) 206 based on thelocations or instructions.

In some embodiments, the instructions may specify an absolute angle ordegree of movement, and the adjusting at 212 may simply compriseadjusting the position of a wireless transceiver 206 to that absoluteangle or based on that degree of movement. In other embodiments in whichlocations are received, the small cells 204 may determine targetpositions for their wireless transceivers 206 based on the receivedlocations and adjust positions of their wireless transceivers 206 fromcurrent positions to the target positions.

Once the positions of the wireless transceivers 206 have been adjusted,the small cells 204 may initiate wireless connections with each otherusing the wireless transceivers. At least one of the small cells 204 mayalso initiate a wireless connection with the macrocell 202 using anadditional wireless transceiver of that small cell 204 and a wirelesstransceiver of the macrocell 202. In some embodiments, initiating thewireless communication may involve performing an RF sweep, beam forming,or both. The resulting wireless connections, such as wireless connection214, may be microwave connections, WiFi connections, WiMax connections,other connections using unlicensed spectrum, other connections utilizingdifferent licensed spectrum that that used for the user devices 202, orsome combination thereof. This set of wireless connections, such aswireless connection 214, form a wireless backhaul, such as wirelessbackhaul 120.

In various embodiments, wireless connectivity may at some time be lostbetween small cells 204, the macrocell 202, and the other cellularaccess points. In response to determining a loss of wirelessconnectivity, a small cell 204, macrocell 202, or other cellular accesspoint may determine a further adjustment to the position of its wirelesstransceiver. In some instances, this may involve determining whetheradditional locations or additional instructions were received with theinitial locations or instructions (e.g., the above-described first andsecond sets of instructions). If such locations or instructions werereceived, they are used to determine the adjustment. If not, then thesmall cell 204, macrocell 202, or other cellular access point mayrequest additional locations or instructions from server(s) 208. In somecases, this may involve repeating the operations described above forreceiving the initial locations or instructions. Once the additionallocations or instructions are received, the small cell 204, macrocell202, or other cellular access point utilizes them to determine anadjustment. Based on the determined further adjustment, the small cell204, macrocell 202, or other cellular access point then adjusts itswireless transceiver and initiates wireless communication with a furtherdevice, which may be different from the device with which connectivityfailed. As a result, the wireless backhaul among the small cells 204,macrocell 202, or other cellular access point is maintained.

Example Devices

FIG. 3 illustrates a component level view of a cellular access point300, including a cellular transceiver, wireless transceivers, and atransceiver configuration module. As illustrated, the cellular accesspoint 300 comprises a system memory 302 storing a transceiverconfiguration module 304 and other modules and data 306. Also, thecellular access point 300 includes processor(s) 308, a removable storage310, a non-removable storage 312, output device(s) 314, input device(s)316, a cellular transceiver 318, and wireless transceivers 320. Invarious embodiments, the cellular access point 300 may be an example ofthe cellular access points 102, the macrocell system 202 or the smallcell systems 204.

In various embodiments, system memory 302 is volatile (such as RAM),non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or some combination ofthe two. The transceiver configuration module 304 may be any one or moremodules configured to perform any or all of the operations describedabove with respect to the cellular access points 102, the macrocellsystem 202 or the small cell systems 204, such as receiving locations orinstructions, adjusting positions of wireless transceivers based on thepositions or instructions, and initiating wireless communication via thewireless transceivers. The other modules or data 306 stored in thesystem memory 302 may comprise any sort of applications or platformcomponents of the cellular access point 300, as well as data associatedwith such applications or platform components.

In some embodiments, the processor(s) 308 is a central processing unit(CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both CPU and GPU, or anyother sort of processing unit.

The cellular access point 300 also includes additional data storagedevices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magneticdisks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated inFIG. 3 by removable storage 310 and non-removable storage 312.Non-transitory computer-readable media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Systemmemory 302, removable storage 310 and non-removable storage 312 are allexamples of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitorycomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other non-transitory medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the cellular accesspoint 300. Any such non-transitory computer-readable media may be partof the cellular access point 300.

In some embodiments, the output devices 314 include any sort of outputdevices known in the art, such as a display (e.g., a liquid crystaldisplay), speakers, a vibrating mechanism, or a tactile feedbackmechanism. Output devices 314 also include ports for one or moreperipheral devices, such as headphones, peripheral speakers, or aperipheral display.

In various embodiments, input devices 316 include any sort of inputdevices known in the art. For example, input devices 316 may include acamera, a microphone, a keyboard/keypad, or a touch-sensitive display. Akeyboard/keypad may be a push button numeric dialing pad (such as on atypical telecommunication device), a multi-key keyboard (such as aconventional QWERTY keyboard), or one or more other types of keys orbuttons, and may also include a joystick-like controller and/ordesignated navigation buttons, or the like.

In some embodiments, the cellular transceiver 318 may be any sort ofcellular transceiver known in the art. For example, cellular transceiver318 may include a radio transceiver that performs the function oftransmitting and receiving radio frequency communications via anantenna. The cellular transceiver 318 may facilitate wirelessconnectivity between the cellular access point 300 and either or both ofother cellular access points or user devices. Further, the cellulartransceiver 318 may include wired communication components, such as anEthernet port, that connect the cellular transceiver 318 in a wiredfashion to one or more other devices of the telecommunication network.

The wireless transceivers 320 include any sort of wireless transceiversknown in the art. For example, wireless transceivers 320 may includeradio transceivers that perform the function of transmitting andreceiving radio frequency communications via an antenna. The wirelesstransceivers 320 may also include wireless communication transceiversand near field antenna(s) for communicating over unlicensed spectrum,such as spectrum utilized for microwave connections, WiFi connections,WiMax connections, or other wireless connections, such as personal areanetworks (e.g., Bluetooth or near field communication (NFC) networks).Further, the wireless transceivers 320 may include a plurality ofwireless transceivers configured to be positioned independently of oneother to enable wireless connections with devices in a plurality ofdirections. The wireless transceivers 320 may utilize beam-formingtechnologies to wirelessly connect to other devices.

FIG. 4 illustrates a component level view of a telecommunication networkserver 400 configured to provide cellular access point locations orwireless transceiver positioning instructions. As illustrated, thetelecommunication network server 400 comprises a system memory 402storing one or more modules and data 404. Also, the telecommunicationnetwork server 400 includes processor(s) 406, a removable storage 408, anon-removable storage 410, output device(s) 412, input device(s) 414,and communication connections 416. In various embodiments, thetelecommunication network server 400 may be an example of the server(s)106 or the server(s) 208.

In various embodiments, system memory 402 is volatile (such as RAM),non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory, etc.) or some combination ofthe two. The modules or data 404 stored in the system memory 402 maycomprise any sort of applications or platform components of thetelecommunication network server 400, as well as data associated withsuch applications or platform components. Such applications and platformcomponents may be capable of performing any or all of the operationsdescribed above with respect to the server(s) 106 and the server(s) 208.Further, in some embodiments, the modules and data 404 may include thelocations repository 108.

In some embodiments, the processor(s) 406 is a central processing unit(CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), or both CPU and GPU, or anyother sort of processing unit.

The telecommunication network server 400 also includes additional datastorage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example,magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage isillustrated in FIG. 4 by removable storage 408 and non-removable storage410. Non-transitory computer-readable media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Systemmemory 402, removable storage 408 and non-removable storage 410 are allexamples of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitorycomputer-readable media include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM,EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other non-transitory medium which can be used to store thedesired information and which can be accessed by the telecommunicationnetwork server 400. Any such non-transitory computer-readable media maybe part of the telecommunication network server 400.

In some embodiments, the output devices 412 include any sort of outputdevices known in the art, such as a display (e.g., a liquid crystaldisplay), speakers, a vibrating mechanism, or a tactile feedbackmechanism. Output devices 412 also include ports for one or moreperipheral devices, such as headphones, peripheral speakers, or aperipheral display.

In various embodiments, input devices 414 include any sort of inputdevices known in the art. For example, input devices 414 may include acamera, a microphone, a keyboard/keypad, or a touch-sensitive display. Akeyboard/keypad may be a push button numeric dialing pad (such as on atypical telecommunication device), a multi-key keyboard (such as aconventional QWERTY keyboard), or one or more other types of keys orbuttons, and may also include a joystick-like controller and/ordesignated navigation buttons, or the like.

In some embodiments, the communication connections 416 may include anysoftware and hardware components known in the art enabling wiredcommunication, wireless communication, or both.

Example Processes

FIGS. 5-8 illustrate example processes. These processes are illustratedas logical flow graphs, each operation of which represents a sequence ofoperations that can be implemented in hardware, software, or acombination thereof. In the context of software, the operationsrepresent computer-executable instructions stored on one or morecomputer-readable storage media that, when executed by one or moreprocessors, perform the recited operations. Generally,computer-executable instructions include routines, programs, objects,components, data structures, and the like that perform particularfunctions or implement particular abstract data types. The order inwhich the operations are described is not intended to be construed as alimitation, and any number of the described operations can be combinedin any order and/or in parallel to implement the processes.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example process 500 for preparing a wirelessbackhaul among the cellular access points and maintaining the wirelessbackhaul in response to a connection failure. The example process 500includes, at 502, preparing, by a cellular access point, a wirelessbackhaul among a plurality of cellular access points. The plurality ofcellular access points may include a macrocell system and one or moresmall cell systems.

At 504, the cellular access point may maintain the wireless backhaulamong the cellular access points in response to a connection failure.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example process 502 for preparing a wirelessbackhaul among the cellular access points, including a cellular accesspoint receiving locations or instructions, adjusting a position of awireless transceiver, and initiating wireless communication via thewireless transceiver. The example process 502 illustrates the preparingat block 502 of FIG. 5 in greater detail.

The example process 502 includes, at 602, requesting, by a cellularaccess point, locations or transceiver positioning instructions. Thecellular access point may be a macrocell system or a small cell system,such as a picocell system, a femtocell system, a microcell system, or aradio remote unit. At 604, when the cellular access point is a smallcell system, the cellular access point may initiate cellularcommunication with a macrocell system (or a small cell with a wirelineinterface) over a portion of licensed spectrum and request the locationsor instructions via the cellular communication. The macrocell or smallcell system in turn provides the request to a server of thetelecommunication network that includes the cellular access points.

At 606, in response to the request, the cellular access point receiveseither (i) locations of the cellular access point and the at least oneother device or (ii) instructions for adjusting a position of at leastone wireless transceiver of the cellular access point. The at least oneother device may also be a cellular access point. For instance, when thecellular access point is a macrocell system, the at least one otherdevice may be a small cell system. When the cellular access point is asmall cell system, the at least one other device may be a macrocellsystem or another small cell system. Further, the at least one wirelesstransceiver of the cellular access point may be one of a plurality ofseparately adjustable wireless transceivers for a correspondingplurality of wireless connections to other devices, including the atleast one other device.

At 608, the cellular access point adjusts the position of the at leastone wireless transceiver based at least in part on (i) the locations ofthe cellular access point and the at least one other device or (ii) theinstructions. The instructions may include an absolute angle or a degreeof movement relative to a current position of the at least one wirelesstransceiver and, at 610, the adjusting based at least in part oninstructions may include adjusting based on an absolute angle or degreeof movement.

In response to receiving the locations of the cellular access point andthe at least one other device, the adjusting the position includes, at612, determining a target position enabling the initiating of thewireless communication, the determining being based at least in part onthe locations of the cellular access point and the at least one otherdevice. At 614, the adjusting further includes adjusting a currentposition of the at least one wireless transceiver to the targetposition.

At 616, the cellular access point may then initiate wirelesscommunication with the at least one other device via the at least onewireless transceiver. The wireless communication may utilize a microwaveconnection, a WiFi connection, or a WiMax connection. The wirelesscommunication could also utilize some other sort of wireless connectionor a cellular connection that does not involve licensed spectrumutilized by the macrocell system/other small cell system for cellularcommunication. At 618, the initiating may include performing a radiofrequency (RF) sweep with the at least one wireless transceiver todetect the at least one device.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example process 504 for maintaining a wirelessbackhaul, including a cellular access point detecting loss of aconnection, determining a further adjustment of a position of a wirelesstransceiver, and initiating wireless communication via the wirelesstransceiver. The example process 504 illustrates the maintaining atblock 504 of FIG. 5 in greater detail.

The example process includes, at 702, detecting, by the cellular accesspoint, loss of a network connection, such as the wireless connection tothe other device.

At 704, the cellular access point determines a further adjustment to theposition of the at least one wireless transceiver to enable wirelessconnection to a further device, At 706, the determining includesrequesting a location of the further device or instructions forpositioning the at least one wireless transceiver. At 708, thedetermining includes utilizing additional locations or additionalinstructions that were received with the locations or instructions atblock 606.

At 710, the cellular access point then adjusts the position of the atleast one wireless transceiver based on the further adjustment andinitiates a wireless connection with the further device via the at leastone wireless transceiver.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example process 800 for retrieving locations ofcellular access points, determining pairs of the cellular access points,and providing locations or instructions to cause each cellular accesspoint of a pair to adjust a position of its wireless transceiver and toenable that pair to initiate a wireless connection via their wirelesstransceivers. The example process 800 includes, at 802, retrieving, by aserver of a telecommunication network, locations of a plurality ofcellular access points. The server may be associated with one or moreSON tools or a SON engine for remotely, automatically managing accessnetwork settings. The server may retrieve the locations from arepository associated with the server.

At 804, the server may also retrieve one or more of capacity, congestioninformation, signal strength information, or resource profiles for thecellular access points.

At 806, based at least in part on the retrieved locations, the serverdetermines pairs of ones of the cellular access points. At 808, thedetermining of the pairs may further be based on the one or more ofcapacity, congestion information, signal strength information, orresource profiles for the cellular access points. At 810, thedetermining may further include determining a first set of pairs of onesof the cellular access points and a second set of pairs of ones of thecellular access points.

At 812, the server may receive requests for the locations orinstructions from the cellular access points.

At 814, the server provides to each cellular access point (i) locationsof that cellular access point and at least one other cellular accesspoint determined to be paired with that cellular access point, or (ii)instructions for adjusting a position of at least one wirelesstransceiver of that cellular access point to enable communication withthe at least one other cellular access point determined to be pairedwith that cellular access point. At 816, the server may provide thelocations or instructions response to the requests received at block812. At 818, the providing may include providing first and second setsof locations or instructions corresponding to the first and second setsof pairs determined at block 810. At 820, providing the instructions mayinclude providing instructions for adjusting based on an absolute angleor degree of movement.

At 822, the server may receive notification that wireless connectivitybetween two cellular access points has been lost. In response, theserver may repeat the determining at block 806 and the providing atblock 814.

CONCLUSION

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific tostructural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understoodthat the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described. Rather,the specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms ofimplementing the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A small cell system comprising: a processor; acellular transceiver configured to communicate with a macrocell or othersmall cell system via a portion of licensed spectrum; one or morewireless transceivers configured to wirelessly communicate withcorresponding one or more devices utilizing a different spectrum thanthe portion of licensed spectrum; and a transceiver configuration moduleconfigured to be operated by the processor to prepare a wirelessbackhaul between the small cell system and the one or more devices, thepreparing including: receiving via the cellular transceiver and over theportion of the licensed spectrum either (i) locations of the small cellsystem and at least one of the one or more devices or (ii) instructionsfor adjusting a position of at least one of the one or more wirelesstransceivers, adjusting the position of the at least one of the one ormore wireless transceivers based at least in part on (i) the locationsof the small cell system and the at least one of the one or more devicesor (ii) the instructions, and initiating wireless communication with theat least one of the one or more devices via the at least one of the oneor more wireless transceivers, wherein the one or more devices includethe macrocell system or the other small cell system.
 2. The small cellsystem of claim 1, wherein the different spectrum is one of a microwavespectrum, a WiFi spectrum, a WiMax spectrum, other unlicensed spectrum,or licensed spectrum which is not utilized by the macrocell system forcellular communication.
 3. The small cell system of claim 1, wherein thesmall cell system is one of a picocell system, a femtocell system, amicrocell system, or a radio remote unit.
 4. The small cell system ofclaim 1, wherein the small cell system receives cellular communicationfrom a user device and provides the cellular communication to themacrocell system or the other small cell system over the wirelessbackhaul.
 5. The small cell system of claim 1, wherein the one or morewireless transceivers are configured to be positioned independently ofone another.
 6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable mediacomprising a plurality of executable instructions stored on thenon-transitory computer-readable media and configured to program acellular access point to prepare a wireless backhaul between thecellular access point and at least one other device, the preparingincluding: receiving either (i) locations of the cellular access pointand the at least one other device or (ii) instructions for adjusting aposition of at least one wireless transceiver of the cellular accesspoint, adjusting the position of the at least one wireless transceiverbased at least in part on (i) the locations of the cellular access pointand the at least one other device or (ii) the instructions, andinitiating wireless communication with the at least one other device viathe at least one wireless transceiver, wherein the executableinstructions are further configured to program the cellular access pointto maintain the wireless backhaul, the maintaining including: detectinga loss of the wireless connection with the at least one device; and inresponse to detecting the loss of the wireless connection, determining afurther adjustment to the position of the at least one wirelesstransceiver to enable wireless connection to a further device, andinitiating a wireless connection to the further device.
 7. The one ormore non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein thecellular access point is one of a macrocell system, a picocell system, afemtocell system, a microcell system, or a radio remote unit and the atleast one other device includes one or more of a picocell system, afemtocell system, a microcell system, or a radio remote unit; or whereinthe cellular access point is one of a picocell system, a femtocellsystem, a microcell system, or a radio remote unit and the at least oneother device includes one or more of a macrocell system, a picocellsystem, a femtocell system, a microcell system, or a radio remote unit.8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6,wherein the at least one wireless transceiver is one of a plurality ofseparately adjustable wireless transceivers of the cellular access pointfor a corresponding plurality of wireless connections to other devices,including the at least one other device.
 9. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the wirelesscommunication utilizes a microwave connection, a WiFi connection, or aWiMax connection.
 10. The one or more non-transitory computer-readablemedia of claim 6, wherein the preparing further includes requesting thelocations or instructions from a server of a telecommunication network,wherein, when the cellular access point is a small cell system, therequesting includes initiating a cellular connection between thecellular access point and either a macrocell system or another smallcell system and requesting the locations or instructions via thecellular connection.
 11. The one or more non-transitorycomputer-readable media of claim 6, wherein the adjusting the positionincludes: in response to receiving the locations of the cellular accesspoint and the at least one other device, determining a target positionenabling the initiating of the wireless communication, the determiningbeing based at least in part on the locations of the cellular accesspoint and the at least one other device, and adjusting a currentposition of the at least one wireless transceiver to the targetposition.
 12. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media ofclaim 6, wherein the instructions for adjusting the position of the atleast one wireless transceiver include an absolute angle or a degree ofmovement relative to a current position of the at least one wirelesstransceiver.
 13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable mediaof claim 6, wherein the initiating the wireless connection comprisesperforming a radio frequency sweep with the at least one wirelesstransceiver to detect the at least one device.
 14. The one or morenon-transitory computer-readable media of claim 6, wherein thedetermining the further adjustment to the position includes either:requesting a location of the further device or instructions specifying anew position of the wireless transceiver, or utilizing additionallocations or additional instructions received with the locations orinstructions.
 15. A method for preparing a wireless backhaul between thecellular access point and at least one other device, the methodcomprising: requesting from a server of a telecommunication network, bythe cellular access point, either (i) locations of the cellular accesspoint and the at least one other device or (ii) instructions foradjusting a position of at least one wireless transceiver of thecellular access point; receiving, by a cellular access point, thelocations or instructions; adjusting, by the cellular access point, theposition of the at least one wireless transceiver based at least in parton the locations or instructions; and initiating, by the cellular accesspoint, wireless communication with the at least one other device via theat least one wireless transceiver, wherein, when the cellular accesspoint is a small cell system, the requesting includes initiating acellular connection between the cellular access point and either amacrocell system or another small cell system and requesting thelocations or instructions via the cellular connection.
 16. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the cellular access point is the small cell system,and the small cell system is one of a picocell system, a femtocellsystem, a microcell system, or a radio remote unit.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the at least one wireless transceiver is one of aplurality of separately adjustable wireless transceivers of the cellularaccess point for a corresponding plurality of wireless connections toother devices, including the at least one other device.
 18. The methodof claim 15, wherein the wireless communication utilizes a microwaveconnection, a WiFi connection, or a WiMax connection.
 19. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the adjusting the position includes: in response toreceiving the locations of the cellular access point and the at leastone other device, determining a target position enabling the initiatingof the wireless communication, the determining being based at least inpart on the locations of the cellular access point and the at least oneother device, and adjusting a current position of the at least onewireless transceiver to the target position.
 20. The method of claim 15,wherein the instructions for adjusting the position of the at least onewireless transceiver include an absolute angle or a degree of movementrelative to a current position of the at least one wireless transceiver.21. The method of claim 15, wherein the initiating the wirelessconnection comprises performing a radio frequency sweep with the atleast one wireless transceiver to detect the at least one device.